When it comes to their origins, Luke, the company's COO, model, and the inspiration behind the brand, was in jail for almost ten years, was bullied as a child, and faced extreme hatred and jealousy from people he trusted. He also went through the traumatic experience of losing his father and seeing the deaths of two of his younger siblings at a young age. All of this has had a tremendous influence on his life. Cheryl Felton, the CEO, was homeless and lived in her vehicle for almost a year. She was also raped every day for a year by someone she trusted, and has had stage 3 cervical cancer, which required the removal of several of her organs in order for her to survive. As a result, she will never be able to have children. Both Luke and Cheryl grew up in the hood and never imagined they'd make it out alive. However, while shopping in the fragrance aisle one day, Cheryl thought to herself, "I wonder how I would go about obtaining my own scent line?" When she arrived home, that notion lingered in her head. So, she got on Google and looked up how to start a fragrance line with zeal. That's how she discovered Tailormade Fragrances in Milan, Italy. The product analysts offered her step-by-step guidance on how to get started, and she then gave them the choice of selecting the perfumes bottles, styles, and smells. Then she purchased 75 bottles of men's and 75 bottles of women's and began selling them right away, as well as creating a website. She began with just one kind of men's cologne and one type of women's perfume. Cheryl named the fragrance line after Luke, her inspiration, motivator, greatest supporter, teacher, and the one who believed in her when others didn't.

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Figure 2 - Portrait of Cheryl and Luke. Source - Lukewarm Fragrance Official Page

After a year and a half, they have six distinct men's colognes, seven different women's perfumes, two unisex scents, four reed diffuser fragrances, and over 100 more products on seven separate pages on their website. Numerous media outlets all around the globe acknowledged their talent, which resulted in their being featured in newspapers and magazines, on radio programs, and at athletic events. Their items are available at the Greenville Postal Annex in North Carolina. They are also listed on Yelp, eBay, Offer Up, Google, Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tik Tok, Tumblr, Twitter, LinkedIn, and several small business and Black business directories. On June 30th, 2021, they filmed their first ad at WNCT 9 News/CW Station. It airs every day on The CW. The mayor and city councilman of Rocky Mount, North Carolina also acknowledged and recognized them in December 2021 for this amazing accomplishment, especially during a pandemic.

Figure 3 - Commendation from Mayor. Source - Cheryl from Lukewarm Fragrances

Despite the fact that fragrances are their major product, they also offer reed diffusers, scented candles, air fresheners, and phone cases. Furthermore, their brand models may be seen on our calendars, face masks, coffee mugs, and drink tumblers. They also provide comfy slides in a variety of colors and sizes for men, women, and children. They have introduced a new brand called Fly Multi, which offers athletic wear for men and women.

 Figure 4 - Their Clothing line. Source - Lukewarm Fragrances official website

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Whatever occurs, no matter how many odds are stacked against you, you must persevere. Cheryl and Luke both demonstrate that, despite their hardships and tribulations,  you get back up, make a difference, and achieve your goals.

 Anand Subramanian is a freelance photographer and content writer based out of Tamil Nadu, India. Having a background in Engineering always made him curious about life on the other side of the spectrum. He leapt forward towards the Photography life and never looked back. Specializing in Documentary and  Portrait photography gave him an up-close and personal view into the complexities of human beings and those experiences helped him branch out from visual to words. Today he is mentoring passionate photographers and writing about the different dimensions of the art world.

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